European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker sharply criticised politicians Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson as the “sad heroes” of Brexit who backed out of leading Britain through the EU exit they had campaigned for.

“The Brexit heroes of yesterday are now the sad heroes of today,” Juncker told a session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.

“Those who have contributed to the situation in the UK have resigned, Johnson, Farage and others. They are as it were retro-nationalists, they are not patriots,” Juncker said.

“Patriots don’t resign when things get difficult, they stay,” he added.

Juncker was reporting to MEPs the results of last week’s historic EU summit, in which British Prime Minister David Cameron reported to his fellow leaders the vote by Britain to leave the bloc.

Johnson pulled out of the leadership race to succeed Cameron, who has said he will resign by October, while Farage on Monday stepped down as leader of the Eurosceptic UK Independence Party.

Juncker also criticised those who campaigned to leave the EU for failing to know what they wanted to do next, with Britain delaying on pulling the trigger on its official divorce from the EU.

“Instead of developing a plan they are leaving the boat,” Juncker said.

The UK’s tumultuous vote to leave the EU saw another party leader resign on Monday (4th July), as UKIP’s leader Nigel Farage announced he was stepping down, declaring “my political ambition has been achieved.”

EU President Donald Tusk meanwhile said the bloc’s members “hope to have the UK as a close partner in future”, but reiterated that it would have to accept the union’s free movement rules if it wanted access to the single market.

“We will not sell off our freedoms and there will be no single market ‘à la carte’,” he told MEPs.

Senior liberal MEP Guy Verhofstadt also slammed Farage and Johnson.

“Brexiteers remind me of rats leaving the sinking ship,” said Verhofstadt, “What are you waiting for? The next referendum in France, in Italy maybe?”

Juncker repeated that there would be no negotiation with the UK, until the British government triggers Article 50, the legal process to take Britain out of the EU.

At the European Council summit held after the referendum, Prime Minister David Cameron told EU leaders his successor would handle the divorce talks.

Leadership contests

Britain’s Conservative party starts voting on Tuesday (5 June) to replace outgoing Cameron following his resignation in the wake of Britain’s shock decision to leave the EU.

Interior minister Theresa May is the clear frontrunner, pitching herself as a sober operator capable of unifying a party fractured by last month’s referendum and leading Britain out of the EU.

May has said she does not plan to invoke Article 50, the formal procedure for leaving the EU, until the end of the year at the earliest despite pressure from European leaders for a quicker divorce.

May campaigned for Britain to stay in the EU but now says that “Brexit means Brexit” and has ruled out an early election or a second referendum — both seen as possible ways of rowing back from the result.

UKIP deputy leader Paul Nuttall, tipped by many to succeed Farage, told MEPs in Strasbourg, “The British people have spoken and threats and bullying are not the answer to the questions the UK leaving the European Union has thrown up.

“The UK and Europe are joined by geography, culture, history and trade and that will not change.We owe it to the citizens of both the UK and Europe to conduct these negotiations in a grown up manner so we can get the best deal for everyone.”

British Prime Minister David Cameron was forced to deny the United Kingdom had collapsed “politically, monetarily, constitutionally and economically” last night, after his final summit with EU leaders before the UK leaves the bloc.

British finance minister George Osborne plans to slash corporation tax to under 15 percent to tempt businesses to stay following the country’s shock vote to leave the European Union, the Financial Times reported Sunday (3 July).

“I’m surprised that you are here. You were fighting for the exit. The British people voted for the exit. Why are you here?” European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Tuesday in Strasbourg.

Further Reading

The British vote to quit the European Union has frozen long-term policy planning at the European Commission, which is unable to make contingency plans for the UK’s exit until it receives formal notice of Britain’s intention to leave the EU.

Nigel Farage stated that UKIP's role after the UK referendum on Europe was to ensure there was “no backsliding or betrayal” on the vote to Leave. But he refused to say if he would dissolve his party, born as a single issue campaign, after Britain quits the EU.

Senior European political figures appealed Sunday (3 July) for the EU to set aside lofty debate as it struggles with Brexit-style populism, and instead to focus on measures which clearly benefit citizens.

Comments

Leave a Reply

And Cameron after resigning as well because he want the Art.50 to be applied by it’s successor ! Besides Boris and Nige must admit a third polito called Dave in a cowardery comrade behavior

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an european

05/07/2016 13:30

Juncker is right !!

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ivan burrows

05/07/2016 15:18

Juncker is an unelected fool who lead the EU is crisis after crisis after crisis, a pity you can’t force him to resign him like we did with Cameron.

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an european

05/07/2016 16:39

Unlike some of your British and Kipper Politicians included you Juncker is NOT and never was a coward one !
Take the facts once in your life ..come on!

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charles_em

05/07/2016 16:45

Hell knows no fury like a EU consultant scorned

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Latimer Alder

05/07/2016 13:41

Try putting some cornflakes in your morning vodka, Jean-Claude.

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Gerry

05/07/2016 13:43

Those guys didn’t leave for nothing. They made sure to get out the way before things blow up and before they get held responsible.

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W. Churchill

05/07/2016 13:44

Mr Juncker, You still do not understand British politics or the people of the UK. All Mr Farage wanted was the UK to decide to leave the EU and Boris Johnson is not an elected leader of any party. The eu is so out of touch with the people it represents that it makes it a laughing stock of the world. The UK decision to leave the EU was due to a number of issues, i.e. Mr Juncker and co arrogance towards the people, useless immigration policy, laughable financial planning, (no audits signed off for years), and the stealing of… Read more »

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charles_em

05/07/2016 13:56

Juncker may in the near future wish he had himself resigned, as there is a growing movement within the EU to sack him. Never looks good on your CV.

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ivan burrows

05/07/2016 15:32

You can’t sake him as he is unelected.

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W. Churchill

05/07/2016 13:59

Guy, being a liberal you are probably a bigger rat than any other

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ivan burrows

05/07/2016 15:00

He really has no idea why we are leaving his disaster union does he.

Who do you think will leave next, France, Italy, Holland or Austria ?

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Jay

05/07/2016 16:25

My money is on Italy.

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ivan burrows

05/07/2016 15:34

I would just like to say thank you Mr Juncker, we couldn’t have done it without you 🙂

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FierEuropeen

05/07/2016 16:32

I don’t know why Juncker waste time speaking about these looneys clowns. It should be the british that should be worried about them, since they have ruined their country. It’s not the EU/our problem. Forgot the english, let them go to their pity lives. The EU should focus only in the European citizens!

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Trevor Hutchinson

06/07/2016 09:46

Better to be a sad hero than an ignorant arrogant who’s idea of negotiation is to put his fingers in his ears, where his total negotiating vocabulary consists of one word, No.
I doubt if any one will agree to Brexit negotiations with this idiot. Angela Merkel should shape up and sack him.